14 DAY TRIAL // The team at the Paradox Development Studio might be about one year away from the launch of Hearts of Iron IV, but it is interested in offering fans as many details on the coming title, with more information now available about the production and technology progression of the grand strategy title.
The new diary explains that gamers will no longer create separate, full divisions via their production lines. Instead, they will have to make pipelines that create individual vehicles.
These will need to then be combined in strategically sound ways before the humans that operate them are being added to create an actual unit that can be sent to the front in order to engage in the combat that’s at the center of Hearts of Iron IV.
Paradox explains that they are trying to create a system that makes it important to understand how introducing an entirely new model can affect long-term prospects and to balance the need for higher quality weapons with the requirements coming from the frontline.
The team states, “Is the war effort best served by a shiny new Tiger that can outclass the competition, or would you rather have 20 Panzer IVs? You will have to make choices like this. Upgrading your equipment now means replacing your old models at the front with new tank designs, for example.”
Various types of battalions will be used in order to give each division its own character, but players will have plenty of customization options in order to adapt them to their own player style.
The lone screenshot attached to the development diary focuses on the technology tree and on the way it will be used to create a clearer sense of progression for gamers of Hearts of Iron IV.
As previously stated, tank tech is based on chassis types, and each of them focuses on four types of subtechs.
The company adds, “The StuG III was a Panzer III chassis with the turret removed and a larger fixed gun placed in its stead. Variants like this can be switched to production lines from the original chassis without much of penalty, so once the Panzer IV becomes your main tank and the Panzer III no longer measures up, it's a perfect time to convert to producing StuGs on those Panzer III lines.”
This setup manages to reflect the historical reality and add some interesting changes for gamers.
Hearts of Iron IV will be launched in the early months of 2015.